


When You Feel Blue, I'll Cry Red

by Its_Icecream_BB



Series: Big Boys Don't Cry, But Men Sure Do [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, Civil War happens, Emotionless Peter Parker, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, I promise, Kinda is but, Mainly done unknowingly, No Slash, Non-Empathetic Tony Stark, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Not Beta Read, Not Captain America: Civil War (Movie) Compliant, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Panic Attacks, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker-centric, Peter just isnt involved, Platonic Soulmates, Precious Peter Parker, Sad, Self-Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, no starker, trust me it isnt as bad as it sounds
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-14
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-05-07 13:41:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19210585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Its_Icecream_BB/pseuds/Its_Icecream_BB
Summary: “The moment he arrived home, May stood sobbing loudly while holding him tightly, even with the dried up blood that still stained him.And all he could do was hug back.Because even though he knew why May was sad -and by extension why he should be too- all he could do was make sure she knew he was there for her.His stomach turned.A small part of him wished he died instead.”A Platonic Soulmate AU based on emotional connection.





	1. Lachrymation of Erythrocyte

**Author's Note:**

> I apologize for any grammar/spelling mistake in advance. I'll try to fix as many as I can as the story continues.

When Peter was 6 he cried blood. 

 

He couldn't remember the day it happened or why, but the reactions from his Parents were something he couldn't forget. 

 

In all honesty he thought he was dying. 

 

At the time it seemed like a reasonable conclusion. His mom was sobbing, and his father stood comforting both of them. 

 

At the time he hadn't been afraid because, well, he had no reason to be. While he would agree he understood the concept of death around that age -as he was well above his age group in terms of intelligence-, he didn't really understand what it meant for the ones left behind.

 

It wasn't until a week later when he wished he'd died too.

 

Not in the way where people grieved to be with their dead loved ones.

 

More so, in a way a child would ask when wanting to visit their other family members.

 

The most innocent way a child could ask, if they could be with their dead parents too.

 

That was another reaction he could never forget.

 

But for the life of him, he couldn't understand why he never felt anything towards these reactions, and it was leaving him with a nauseous feeling in his stomach.

 

It wasn't until he was 10 when he fully understood what his condition was. It was a condition that was called many different things in many cultures, but the one that stood out to him the most had been 'Cursed souls'

 

 

It made his stomach twist in a way only things he knows he's supposed to feel strongly towards did.

 

That was another thing he realized.

 

That what he had felt wasn't normal. 

 

It wasn't normal for someone not to be able to feel. it wasn't normal for someone to reply 'oh' when they realize they would never see their parents again.

 

He didn't understand why, but he did know it had something to do with soul bonds.

 

The world was filled with them, and there were a lot of different ways to find them. From living a life without color to having a swab of colors painting your body that only your soulmate could activate from physical interaction. There were also plenty who had soulmates, and plenty who did not.

 

Then there was what he had, which according to his Aunt and Uncle, was extremely rare. 

 

Many called it 'The Weeping Souls', or 'Bleeding Eyes.' But he never felt attached to either or so he called them The Lacrimation of Erythrocyte.

 

He was the textbook definition of a nerd.

 

Less than 1% of Earth's population was recorded having this type of soul bond.

 

Most likely due to it's inevitable end of most hostess' lives.

 

This of course only being a speculation since the bond itself is still somewhat a mystery.

 

Which now made his parents reactions justified.

 

From his research he learned the basic summary from the souls who've bonded in this way:

 

In this type of bond, one person has the ability to express their emotions while their other half is without. The person who can express emotions have difficulty expressing empathy. The person who can't express emotions, are empathetic. Meaning, if someone else was grieving, he'd understand why, but not be able to express it himself.

 

It had sounded extremely simple at first. 

 

But it wasn't until he dug further when he saw there was much more at stake than what he previously thought.

 

Person A ( Non-empath ) couldn't understand the feelings of others. While at first glance it may not be a problem, this realization could cause great frustration at the fact of not being able to relate with a loved one. While they can feel sympathy, they would never be able to understand why one would cry about something unless it directly affected them. Person B (Emotionless) Could never feel any type of emotion whatsoever. The ones they did feel, came from Person A. There was only one they could feel. 

 

Sadness.

 

That had been the only emotion recorded at the time to cause blood to spill from ones tear ducts.

 

Which caused even more problems from this kind of soul bond.

 

A lot of those problems, had ended in the early deaths of many host. So, he had them written down off a forum for himself, in his journal. All of them were, and had not been limited to: 

-

Death from blood loss

 

Emotionless feelings affecting everyday life - Death by suicide

 

Sensitive people having a harder time dealing with their others emotions - DBS 

 

Their other is dead -DBS

 

They want a different soul bond -DBS

 -

 

Even with all the downsides, he had also read stories were both souls had been able to find one another. These soulsmates were considered some of the most powerful ones to ever bond due to the amount of tenacity and luck needed for both to meet.

 

Being able to feel emotions and express them was a feeling he had grown to want for himself.

 -

 

It wasn't until he was 12 when he started contemplating suicide.

 

At the time it wasn't a big deal for him. He had thought that there had been a likely chance his soulmate was dead due to the fact he himself wasn't crying blood every other week. Most of the forums recommended it too, since a life without emotions -he read- was not one worth living. He'd might as well wait till his next life to meet said soulmate. So, he asked his aunt for help one night after dinner.

 

He never asked again after that.

 

_"Peter, sweety, please, I'll probably never understand what you're going through but please, please remember that no matter what I'll always love you."_

 

What seemed like hours of his aunt holding on to him while sobbing into his hair, she finally spoke a few set of words that made him never want to choose to take his own life ever again.

 

_"Whoever you're bonded with; You will find them, I promise you."_

May never broke her promises.

 

-

 

It wasn't until he was 14 when he nearly died.

 

He sat on the floor kneeling against his Uncle Ben whose blood was soon covering Peter's coat. 

 

He had gotten bit by a spider on his trip to Oscorps a few weeks ago. Which in turned gave him powers. Powers he planned on testing that night when he snuck out from his bedroom window.

 

He didn't plan for Uncle Ben to come looking for him.

 

He didn't plan for Uncle Ben to get shot.

 

Peter placed both his hands on the wound and called out for help with the most emotion he could convey.

 

It took ten minutes for the ambulance and police to arrive.

 

Ten minutes too long.

 

He was brought back to the police station in one of the police cars. Then, the officer who was driving had tried to converse with him;

 

_"Listen kid, I'm sorry you had to go through something like that, damn.. when we get back we're gonna need ya to get a hold of someone you know ok?"_

 

The officer turned to look over their shoulder taking a glimpse of Peter. To anyone Peter probably looked like he was in shock.

 

Maybe he was. 

 

He would never know.

 

_"It's fine officer. I'll just call my Aunt."_

 

Peter would never know whether the officer was in shock due to him finally speaking up, or of his unnatural monotone voice. The only noise that came from the officers mouth was a small sound of affirmation. So he didn't feel the need to speak the rest of the ride.

 

Although, he didn't understand why he didn't feel anything from witnessing his last living relative bleed out on the ground. His only thought upon watching his Uncle's gasp out his last words of endearment was, _'oh, this is going to hurt May alot.'_

 

The moment he arrived home, May stood sobbing loudly while holding him tightly, even with the dried up blood that still stained him.

 

And all he could do was hug back.

 

Because even though he knew why May was sad -and by extension why he should be too- all he could do was make sure she knew he was there for her.

 

Then, his stomach turned.

 

Then, he coughed up a few drops of blood, onto his hands.

 

A small part of him wished he died instead that day.

 

 

 

 

 


	2. Of Mouth Bleeds and Other Important Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Who?..." Pepper sighed, taking the clipboard from between her hands and placing it to her side.
> 
>  
> 
> "Why is there a person in spandex sitting on our couch?" She nearly whispered, almost as if she was mostly questioning herself than the A.I.

"So, you mean to tell me that this isn't even a romantic bond? That kinda sucks, all this just for, what? A better than average friendship?" Was Neds first response to hearing Peter's soul bond. His next had been an 'ow' due to a large book that accompanied Michelle most days.

 

"Hey! What was that for!?" Ned rubbed the back of his head.

 

"A bond whether be it romantic or platonic is still a bond. What you said basically implied that being loved by a romantic partner is a lot better than being loved by friends or family." Michelle replied with an eyeroll.

 

Ned had been part of a few with two soul bonds- one for their romantic soulmate, while the other for their platonic. Both Ned and Michelle were people he'd met in middle school, soon growing close due to a 'being in the wrong place at the right time' scenario.

 

Ned was awed by his bond, and vowed to help find his other. 

 

Michelle was indifferent, vowing to help him and Ned survive high school because, in her words, "You nerds wouldn't last a day without me." 

 

Peter felt he should have been feeling some sort of emotion from the whole conversation Though, all he could say was, "ok." 

 

As there were good days, there had also been bad days too. 

 

Days where the people he would assume he is close to were suffering, and all he could do was comfort them to the best of his ability. 

 

Those days allowed him to learn how he could fake emotions. He learned to study conversation and reactions to certain things. He learned when to smile or frown in conversations after watching an -unhealthy- amount of television drama as he grew older. 

  
  


Conversations that were in some way shape or form a joke, even the ones that reached the zone of uncomfortable small talk were probably some of the easiest ones to pick up on.  Most of the time his friends didn't suspect a thing. Other days, he'd be moved to the side by one of his friends, just like now.

 

"Listen Peter, I know you're trying to make us feel better about our crap jokes, but don't force yourself to laugh or emote just cause you think it'll hurt us if you don't. With or without emotions, we befriended you cause you're a great person at heart. Just be you."

 

Peter nodded, fully understanding what Michelle had wanted from him. His stomach on the other hand turned violently and caused him to race to the bathroom.

 

The pain caused him to dry heave into the toilet bowl while a few specks of blood came up.

 

That was another unfortunate side effect.

 

He remembered going to the hospital with his Aunt and Uncle after one night when the tears had gotten bad. It wasn't until he was in the building when he started coughing up blood, and had _'scared the living crap out of us, we thought we were going to lose you that day'_ the both of them. Turned out that the stress from the lack of emotion was affecting his body in other ways. Something that had been recorded before, but not really looked into. They recommended him to be home-schooled and stay in a stress free environment. It worked for a while, but money was difficult to come by, so he eventually had to go back to school. 

 

On days were he'd cry and cough blood, were times he fancied the idea of death, but even so, he'd always try and shake those unwanted thoughts from his head. He always remembered the promise. He always opened his journal and remembered what he'd be given if he ever did eventually find his other.

 

He remembers he's Spiderman now. That people rely on him.

 

Spiderman had been another reason he'd try to learn social cues. No one wants an emotionless superhero. Then the tabloids would really be hitting it on the nose when using the word 'menacing monster.' 

 

He flushed the toilet, wiping his mouth he headed to class before the bell could ring. 

 

\--

 

Almost everyone in the school knew about his bond. Rumors spread, and when people get witness accounts they eventually find out the truth. 

 

Just like today.

 

He was in the middle of Chem when someone in front of him screeched, pointing at his face. The teacher had taken a double check, and with a sigh, sent him to the nurses office. He grabbed a few napkins that rested on one of the tables before heading out.

 

Just like every other time, he was crying but couldn't for the life of him, understand why.

 

"What's- oh Peter. Here let me help you." The nurse quickly stood up and guided him to the small couch.

 

"If you start feeling dizzy, tell me ok? We don't want a repeat of last time." The nurse sighed. Peter nodded his head, and laid back against the chair. 

 

As he laid back, he focused his eyes on the ceiling. Hoping the wave of tears would eventually pass by soon. 

 

"So, not tryna be rude or anything but, how does that feel like? It's gotta feel weird right?" Peter turned his head to the sound of the voice -Someone else was here?- and saw a boy with blue eyes and dirty blond hair.

 

"You're new." Peter replied. Either he's new or maybe he's just not as observant as he thought he was.

 

"Uh yeah. I'm just- Holy shit, does it just come out like that!?" The boy exclaimed, eyes widening whether in fear or concern.

 

Peter place his napkin on the wet spots that started to form around his ears and nose.

 

"This only happens when my soulmates emotions are really intense. They must be going through something really big since this rarely happens." Peter explained in monotone voice while gesturing at the new leaking holes.

 

"Damn… That's gotta suck. I mean, mines makes it so I can't smell or taste shit. I'm glad I don't got what you got- no offense." The boy shifted in his chair leaning back a little, seemingly nursing his left fist.

 

"Oh. Non taken." Peter replied. He then looked to the boys fist.

 

"If you're new here, then how did that happen? New students don't normally try to get into fights from what I know." Peter asked.

 

"A bunch of juniors thought it was alright to beat the shit out of some other kid. He was probably a freshy. Thought I teach them to pick a fight with someone their own size. Pretty sure I broke one of the assholes' nose." The boy seemed to smirk as his gaze hit the floor at the memory.

 

"That would look bad on your record. I'm sure that would lessen your chances of getting in." 

 

"Yeah, only if they know what I did. Those dickwads ain't gonna tell no one. I can give two shits about records, but them, they do, surprisingly. The nurse just thinks I punched a tree or some shit, can't really remember the excuse I used…" The boy looked towards the door as the nurse came in and handed him some gauze and disinfectants.

 

"Here, your mom is currently in the office talking with the principal. I suggest you make that look as nice as possible if you want to higher your chances of getting in." The nurse spoke with sternness. The boy grinned.

 

"Of course ma'am."

 

Peter watched the two as they wrapped up the injured hand. He then noticed the napkins had completely soaked through, so when he got up to get more he his vision blurred.

 

"Whoa, he doesn't look good." The nurse looked over to Peter and rushed to help him sit back down onto the chair.

 

"I'm calling for an ambulance, this is way too much." The nurse turned her attention towards the boy. 

 

"Harley I'm going to need you to grab some napkins for him. I have to go make the phone call real quick." She quickly rushed into the office connected to the other side of the room. Before Peter could say anything he was cut off by a small cough.

 

"Yeah yeah yeah, I got it." The boy -Harley mumbled as he stood up and collect the napkins from the table, handing them to Peter. 

 

"Thanks." Peter ripped a few pieces out and wiped away what he could.

 

"No need, pretty sure it's kinda an obligation to do something if someone looks like their gonna die from blood loss."

 

"Okay, they should be here in at least 15 minutes. Just hope you can hold on." The nurse walked back to Peter with some damp wipes. "This should help wipe away some of the stains." 

 

As if on cue, another waterfall of blood came streaming out of his eyes, ears, and nose.

 

"How the fuck are you not dead?" Harley spoke barely above a whisper.

 

At that point the blood had drenched not only his clothes, but a part of the small couch and the nurse's arms as well.

 

It was only a matter of minutes before black consumed his vision.

 

\--

 

"Is it just going to get worse?!"

 

"I'm sorry ma'am but, we can't be absolutely sure. His condition is quite rare. It's a miracle he survived this long with the amount of transfusions we've done throughout the years."

 

"Is- can this get better? Will he get better?"

 

"Unless he finds his soulmate Ms. Parker, there isn't much we can say."

\--

 

Peter woke a few hours later. School was already out and May and some doctor had been the first few voices he heard before fully coming to.

 

If it wasn't for spiderman, he would probably not be here right now.

 

\--

"Dude you're not gonna believe it!" Ned had called almost right after Peter was given the okay to head back home the next day. Peter currently sat in the passenger seat of their car while May drove.

 

"My parents bought me that death star set! You know the one we've wanted ages ago!?" Peter felt his stomach turned and coughed into his hand.

 

"You okay sweetie?" May frowned, taking a quick glance over at Peter.

 

"Yes, fine." Peter replied. 

 

.

 

"How many pieces?"

 

\--

When Peter arrived home he decided to take the day off from patroling -due to the simple fact May didn't feel comfortable with leaving him alone- since he had nothing else to do, they both decided to binge a few movies.

 

After a few days Peter eventually went back to web swinging, taking on his normal patrol of small thefts and animal rescues. 

 

Everything was going by pretty smoothly -or what some might call smoothly- and he had just took a rest stop on a rooftop to recap his day.

 

Everything was fine for a few minutes. 

 

Until a group of people wearing avengers mask thought it was alright to try and rob a bank right when he was about to call it quits.

 

He quickly swung over to the building and quietly walked in.

 

Before anyone could notice he was there, he shot his first strands of web at the men who seemed to be welding some sort of strangely belt gun. His stomach buzzed quietly while he continued to knock the other men out. It wasn't until an inconveniently timed swing caused him to freeze mid air from one of the weapons.

 

"Thought spidey was a talker?" The man had grinned. 

 

"Only when he wants to be." Peter quipped back, shooting his web towards the gun. While he did ended up taking the men down, the gun he webbed was knocked over and had activated causing the weapon to shoot out a beam at Delmar's.

 

"Thats bad."

 

\--

 

As he arrived home, he quietly crawled on his ceiling towards the door in an attempt to close it. Once he plopped down he turned to face his bunk, and his stomach flipped.

 

"You're here. _Why_?" He tried to emphasis on the 'why.'

 

"You're the spiderman.” Need whispered in awe.

 

\--

 

Even though Peter had no way of emitting or feeling some sort of emotion, he had thought it was logical to not let anyone know who he was. While people finding out his identity made him feel rather indifferent, he's seen what it would be like if he had come out with his identity to begin with, _see: Tony Stark._

 

Just like he thought it had been logical to become a vigilante. How it had been logical to commend the Avengers for their feats rather than their failures. How it had been logical to skip the decathlon tournament so he could look more into the alien tech. Everything he did at this point was based on logical, and on special occasions, the turning of his gut. 

 

It was also based on logic when he retrieved a power core from one of the alien techs. Which led him to deciding on going to DC instead -since his aunt insisted and he wasn't going to continue arguing about it-, which also led him to the situation he was in now.

 

"My friends are up there!!" He turned to Michelle, who was distraught.

 

"Don't worry, I'll save them." He replied with a slight exclamation in each word he spoke.

 

Now, Peter will admit that he is well above average for someone his age when it comes to intelligence. 

 

He would _also_ admit that his well above average intelligence didn't always work.

 

As he scaled the monument, a helicopter flew up from behind.  

 

Then a helicopter appeared, and the men inside had said something, but Peter's focus was on how he had planned to breaking the glass.

 

Peter turned to watch the helicopter and looked back at the window he been trying to get into. He calculated where to pinpoint his shot and how low he should swing for momentum. 

 

He soon shot out a string to the farther landing skid of the helicopter and swung back with all his might. Before the helicopter could try and tilt away from the monument, he quickly released his grasp of the web and shot straight through the small window right before the elevator gave out.

 

"Oh thank _god_." Ned let out a shaky breath. Everyone else stared at the masked vigilante.

 

"Uh, I'm Spiderman, I'm here to help..you." He spoke, the words sounding more like a question than a statement.

 

"I would hope so ." Mr Harrison laughed humorlessly.

 

\--

 

Peter was perched on a rooftop taking a view of New York's skyline when he was talking to Ned through an earpiece.

 

"So thingy was a bomb. That's literally all you got from the trip?” Peter and Ned both were going over what he had learned while looking for the man responsible for the alien pieces.

 

"No, there was a guy in a bird suit too. I had no idea about the bomb part until I heard a few of his guys talking about it at a gas station."

 

"So the real question is where he's going to next right?" Ned barely sounded comprehensible as he took a bite of what sounded like chips.

 

"I think I have an idea on a few guys. Though, that means I'll probably have to skip some classes again." Peter watched as the sun was starting to set.

 

" _Dude_ , you can't keep missing classes. The principal's already been talking about holding you back. I don't think I can bare sitting with Michelle all by myself." Ned spoke in an exasperated tone.

 

"How about Harley?" 

 

"He's a Junior Peter. The only time we get to hang out is lunchtime. Not only that but they both eratiate this sort of, chaotic evil energy. You, my good friend, are lawfully good energy. Some of us prefer a warm glass of milk. Some of us like are teeth."

 

"Sounds like a personal problem." Peter replied as he surveyed the direction to Manhattan. He could see what looked like a speck of red in the distance.

 

"Have to call you back. I think something is coming." Peter hung up the device before he could get a reply.

 

Peter stood up from his previously crouched position and saw the speck grew even closer than it was a minute ago.

 

"Ironman…” Why was he coming this way? The explosions of questions that formulated in his head caused him to stagger a bit. By the time he fully cleared it he took a deep breath. Ironman was standing a few feet away from him on the same roof top. 

 

"Hey Spider guy, saw what you did back in D.C. Gotta say, I'm impressed. Good job on saving those kids." The robotic voice almost sounded comforting. 

 

"Th- _thanks_." Peter emphasis the 'anks' hoping it didn't sound off.

 

"Just wanted to tell you that you're invited to come by the tower anytime,  _preferably soon-_ since you're in dire need of an upgrade." As Ironman spoke his masked fully retracted and he walked his way over to Spiderman.

 

Once he reached the boy, he looked at him with -what he would assume- a calculated gaze.

 

"How can you even see out those things?" Tony pointed towards his goggles.

 

Peter believes if he were any normal human he would have been offended at the grimace on the older man's face when he started to break down his 'tasteful' fashion choices. Peter feels his stomach rumble a tiny bit, but thinks better of it.

 

"The goggles help me deal with my sensory intake. Ever since I got my powers, all my senses are dialed up to 11." Peter replied barely emphasis his words.

 

But of course Peter is who he is as heart, and who he is at heart doesn't stop him from saying his next sentence.

 

"As for the suit, I'm sorry to break it to you Mr. Stark, but not everyone is a _billionaire_."

 

The older man stared at the boy, whether in shock of Peter's weirdly toned reply or amused, he wouldn't know.  

 

"So you're a super vigilante and a sass bucket. That's good to know." Before Peter could reply, his phone started going off.

 

Oh, must be 6 already.

 

"Sounds like you got places to be. Anyway, come by the tower tomorrow or sometime this week or this month. I'd like to see how your webs work. Who formulated that by the way?" 

 

"Uh,me sir." Peter replied. 

 

"Huh.” Mr. Stark looked genuinely impressed.

A second later he waved bye and was already gone before Peter could say anything else.

 

Ironman wanted to see him tomorrow.

  
  


His stomach flipped violently.

 

\--

 

"Come on Peter, can you hold off on the skipping? By the time next year comes around I'll be a senior, and you'll still be eating at the kids table." Harley took a seat next to Ned while Michelle sat on his right.

 

"Don't bother, I've been telling him for ages now. I think it'll be a good lesson for him." Michelle commented bluntly.

 

"That's kinda harsh." Ned grimace.

 

"He's on my shit list for missing 3 practices." Michelle then turned to face Peter.

 

"You're on my shit list for missing 3 practices," she repeated.

 

"I'll come to the next one, promise." Peter replied, knowing that was probably the best reply he could use in a situation like this.

 

Harley and Ned snorted and chuckled at Peter's lack of tone. Michelle on the other hand was not showing any mercies.

 

"Yeah like the first 3 times you promise?" Ned spoke making both himself and Harley grin.

 

"I honestly feel so attacked right now." Peter spoke in his default voice which made Harley and Ned crack up again. Michelle had turned her face the other direction.

 

After a few minutes when the laughter died down and the lunch bell rang Michelle bought him to the side.

 

"All jokes aside, I'd rather you not be replaced with Flash. So just try to show up for this next practice ok?" Peter nodded and went off towards his next class.

 

\--

It was four in the afternoon when he spotted a man in a car lot that looked similar to the one he'd seen with the other men before he got hold of the power core.

 

After an -what some would call- _pitiful_ attempt at interrogation, he was shown some mercy and given information on the next deal location. As he took a rest stop atop a random complex he looked off towards Manhattan.

 

Maybe he should take Mr. Stark's help. 

 

There was a high possibility that the bird guy could be at the place of the dealing. If so, then it should be in Peter's best interest to come fully prepared. He checked his web cartridges and took off towards the direction of the tower.

 

It took a little under 15 minutes to reach his destination - due to unforeseen detours - but by the time he reached the place, he had absolutely no idea where he was supposed to go. As he looked up, he saw where the balcony to the penthouse had been and decided that was his best bet.

 

The moment he knocked on the window of the penthouse he was greeted with what sounded like a female voice that sounded slightly robotic.

 

_ "Boss is unavailable at the moment. You've been allowed to come in and wait until his meeting is over." _

 

Peter looked around for the source of the sound as he entered the room. 

 

_ "You are currently only allowed permission to this room and one of the nearby bathrooms." _

 

Still not finding the source of the sound, Peter asks.

 

"Who are you?" The words spilled a bit unnaturally. It was only a few quiet seconds later until the same voice replies.

 

_"My name is Friday, I am the A.I that runs throughout the building. I also happen to assist boss both in and out his suits."_ Peter nods his head in affirmation, soon taking his seat on the couch.

 

"Do you-" Peter paused. He didn't want to sound unnatural to an A.I who could probably figure out his secret identity in a heartbeat. If he was going to talk, he'll have to do it with a bit more enthusiasm.

 

_"Yes?"_ Friday questioned.

 

"D-do you know why Mr. Stark came to me?"  Peter replied, hoping it sounded genuine.

 

_"While I may not always know Boss' attentions with certain things, I do know he doesn't follow through on things he finds a waste of time."_ The A.I inquired. Peter kept quiet, trying to process what she had said.

 

_" What I mean by that is, boss seems to have picked up an interest in your activities and it doesn't look like he's going to drop it anytime soon."_ Friday finished with what sounded like a chirp to her tone of voice.

 

Peter nodded in understanding and felt the turns in his stomach. There was no doubt in his mind about it now. Mr. Stark was going to have to find out his identity sooner or later which, isn't really too much of a problem. The only problem there was, was his age. Any responsible adult would automatically tell him to stop doing what he was doing the moment they found out he still wasn't legally allowed to drive yet.

 

He was about to ask Friday if Mr Stark was a responsible adult when the elevator dinged and The Pepper Potts walked in.

 

"Who?..." Pepper sighed, taking the clipboard from between her hands and placing it to her side.

 

"Why is there a person in spandex sitting on our couch?" She nearly whispered, almost as if she was mostly questioning herself than the A.I.

 

_"Boss personally delivered an invitation for Spiderman to come by the tower yesterday at approximately 5:54 pm."_ Friday responded. 

 

Pepper sighed, "So that's why he missed his 6 o'clock meeting." As she placed her board down on the kitchen counter, she walks over to where Peter was currently seated and extended her hand.

 

"I'm sorry for this, Tony's in a meeting till 5:30. Please…feel free to wait another 25 minutes or maybe just come back tomorrow afternoon." Pepper ended with a small sigh as Peter shook her hand.

 

Peter nodded, " I'll..I'll wait." He paused. "If, that's okay of course." He did not want to leave it for tomorrow. If Mr. Stark has something of use for him now, he could use it in his pursuit of the….bird guy, man, Pigeon. Vulture. Yeah that one.

 

"Yes, of course it is. Do you want anything to drink? I can't imagine what you do allows many water breaks.." She trailed off, making her way towards the fridge.

 

Peter quietly snapped his gums.

 

"Yes, uh, please?" Peter's voice came out quietly.

 

Miss Potts made her way back over to the couch, taking a seat next to Peter.

 

"So, what does Tony have planned for you?" Her expression looked playfully inviting while her tone was lean towards curiosity.

 

"I..honestly don't know." Peter replied, adding an awkward chuckle. 

 

Miss Potts smiled and took a sip of her water.

 

"Well, if he's doing what I think he's doing, don't hesitate to turn him down if it gets too overwhelming."

 

Peter tilted his head, wanting her to elaborate.

 

Pepper must have recognized the gesture as confusion since she continued.

 

"He tends to go...a bit overboard when it comes to things he's…" She paused for a bit.

"I'm not telling you this to discourage you or anything, it's just that Tony...well...he can be very..extravagant when he wants to."

 

Peter nodded, adding a laugh at the -what he assumed had been- joke.

 

Pepper smiled widely. Soon they sat in a comfortable silence before Pepper got up take Peter's cup to the kitchen. 

 

"Why...why do you do the things you do?" Miss Potta asked as she put away the now dried cups.

 

Peter was a bit caught off guard at the question.

 

"Not to pry or anything it's just. If you do decide to stick around and Tony...I'd like to know your intentions." Pepper turned around and walked her way back over to the couch.

 

Peter thought for a few seconds. Then he spoke.

 

"When you can do the things that I can, but you don't, and then the bad things happen, they happen because of you." Peter's answered, his voice ending on a flat note.

 

Pepper gazed over him thoughtfully and nodded. 

 

Before anything else could be said, there came a ding from the elevator.

 

"Oh hey Pep, when did you-" The man cut himself off.

 

Just a few feet away, Mr. Stark stood seemingly looking a bit surprised.

 

" _Spiderman_ , didn't think I'd be seeing you so soon."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Expect way more interaction next chapter. These first two were kinda introductiony,,


	3. When it's for me to do

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "If you can't handle the responsibility kid, then you can't handle the suit."
> 
> He didn't know why, but those words rang through his ears. He had wanted so badly to prove to Tony that he had what it took. That he knew the risk. That he could handle the suit.
> 
> He wanted to show him what he could do, and the only way to do that was by stopping the Vulture. He could do it. He is Spider-man.
> 
> With all his might Peter pushed the rubble. His night couldn't get any more difficult then that he thought. 
> 
> Peter tries not to think about the possibility that he was most likely alone on this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait guys

The silence had lasted only for about a second before Miss Potts spoke.

 

"You invited Spiderman. That probably should have been mentioned when I called earlier." She turned to face Mr. Stark.

 

"Well, I know how much you _love_ surprises." 

Mr. Stark walked over to the counter, placing his briefcase onto it.

 

"Besides, I didn't think he'd show up this soon, so-" He reached for something in the fridge,"technically it's Spiderman's fault ." He finished off with a grin and shrugged, taking a sip from his drink. Peter felt a small gurgle in his stomach.

 

"With all do respect Mr. Stark, you didn't really leave any contact information behind for me to give you any sort of heads up so-"  Peter pretend to push an imaginary force towards the man, "technically, it's still your fault." The man rolled his eyes as Miss Potts chuckled.

 

"Let's both agree that was in the past now, shall we?" Mr. Stark responded as he finished the rest of his drink. Miss Potts turned her head back towards him.

 

"That depends on why I was invited." Peter spoke flatly.

 

Miss Potts smiled and walked over to grab the briefcase that had been placed atop her clipboard. Whilst grabbing the board, she placed the case on a stool.

 

"Well, I'll just take my leave," she then faced Peter, " remember what we talked about okay?" Peter nodded. Once the elevator door closed he could hear her whisper something about _'Now there's two of them?’_ but didn't think much of it.

 

"What did she mean by that?" Mr.Stark quirked an eyebrow.

 

"She gave me advice." 

 

"On?" 

 

"Nothing too important. I'm most likely not gonna use it anyway." Peter shrugged his shoulders before he continued.

 

"Why was I invited?" Mr. Stark walked from the counter back towards the elevator.

 

"It's something better seen than told kid, follow me." He gestured at the doors. Peter's stomach turned at the word he used when referring to him.

 

"Kid?" Peter asked as the both walked into the elevator. 

 

"Eh, anyone below the age of 25 -which I'm guessing you're not a day over- is still automatically a kid in my book."  Mr. Stark answered. Peter tilted his head. As the elevator came to a stop he spoke, 

 

"That's because you're old right?" Which had sounded like genuine question rather than a quip so his voice had been near monotone. The man stuttered in movement, leaving Peter to exit first before he could reply.

 

It didn't take long for them to reach their destination. 

 

That destination being Mr. Stark's lab.

 

Peter looked all around not really feeling anything by looking at all the tech in it.

 

Really, it had been his stomach that told him that he should probably show he was in awe so they weren't standing in silence.

 

"W-wow."

 

Mr. Stark walked past him as walked further into the lab. He reached for something, pulling a case out and placing it on the table in front of them.

 

" _That's_ why you were invited." Peter walked up to the case and pressed on the indentations. The case opened up, expanding into a display that housed what looked a little like his spiderman suit but better. He felt his stomach turned, this was more than enough.

 

"Thank you Mr. Stark I-" 

 

"Nope, uhuh, that's what we're not gonna do. Call me Tony." Peter nodded and reached out to grasp the fabric of the suit.

 

"Here's the thing." Tony started, which made Peter fully turned his direction.

 

"There's a catch." Peter spoke, it coming out like a statement. He released the garment from his hold.

 

"Isn't there always?" Tony walked up the case and slid it closer to himself.

 

"You're only allowed to get the suit under one condition." Peter nodded. Tony looks back over to him and places his right hand atop the case.

 

"I'm going to need a face to this suit. Preferably, before I give it to you." Peter's stomach stuttered. He looked back towards Tony and the suit. The suit looked like it could be incredibly useful, his best bet was showing Tony who he was and most likely gaining the billionaires trust.

 

"I'm not trying to say I don't trust you- well actually that's exactly what-"

 

"Ok." Peter's nonchalant tone must of took the man by surprise as he watched the way his eyes widen likely due to his acquiescence.

 

"That was surprising a lot easier than-" before he could finish, Peter already had reached for his mask and pulled it off.

 

The silence lasted for a mere 36 seconds before Tony quickly grabbed the case, shutting it at nearly inhuman speeds.

 

"Nope nope nope nope nope-", he continued to carry the case over to the other part of the lab.

 

Oh no.

 

"Wait, you said-"

 

"I know what I said, but that was _before_ I knew you were a pre-pubescent toddler!" Tony all but shouted as he continued to pack away the suit. Peter saw this as a possible outcome, but hadn't wanted to leave empty handed.

 

"What are you going to do now?" Peter asked. Tony stopped and looked back over to Peter.

 

"Now, I'm going to have to ask you to exit the tower- probably should call your parents if we want to get all responsible about this- and pretend I never called you here, capisce? Now shoo, I gotta think of a way to scrap this thing." Tony went back towards another table and pulled up display screens while waving his hand in a shooing motion.

 

"No." Peter replied. 

 

Tony looked up to the boy.

 

"I don't know if you've forgotten already, but you're in _my_ tower." He squints his eyes.

 

Now Peter knows that logical, pissing the Tony Stark off in his own building was probably the worst thing to do at the moment- especially since he just practically exposed his identity -but again, Peter was not going home empty handed.

 

" You can't just come and offer me help just to take it away." Peter had no time to add any sort of emotion in his sentence, so he kept his voice in it's default tone. 

 

He snorted, "I can and I will. Now out," his voice now sounding impatient.

 

"So, you're going to let me continue to do what I do- which is going to get even more dangerous down the road -knowing fully you have something that could potentially help me?" Peter crossed his arms and tilted his head. Maybe the guilt tripping tactic would be of use.

 

"Yep." Tony continued to look at the screens that currently held a picture of the suit. Peter's stomach began to pinch.

 

"So, let's say I hypothetically decide to go after a person who has highly advanced weaponry and I happen to, I don't know, die, you still wouldn't feel the least bit responsible?" Tony froze.

 

 _Checkmate_.

 

The older man cleared his throat.

 

"What do you really want?"  He placed both his hands on the table, pushing away the display.

 

"I really want what you were going to offer me," Peter paused, "preferably today, please."

 

He looked up at the boy and pointed at him.

 

"You're going through a full background check." Tony pulled up another screen.

 

" Peter Parker, age 15, born August 10th 2001. That's all you need to know." Peter replied confidently. Tony glared at him.

 

"Friday?” Seconds pass before she replies.

 

"There seems to be a correlation to a Peter Benjamin Parker who resides in Queens New York, boss. The images on his school ID matches aswells." A few school pictures pop up, the most recent one being his freshmen pictures from last year. Peter could her a deep sign escape from the man's mouth.

 

"Are you always this stubborn kid?" He spoke, as he skimmed through some of the information the A.I pulled up.

 

"I'd like to think of myself as the assertive type." Peter replied watching the display attentively. Tony looked back towards the boy with a calculating gaze.

 

"Ok, so, this hypothetical bad guy wouldn't happen to be a, I don't know, currently existing bad guy?" He questioned.

 

Peter tilted his head, " I'm sure everything I've said up till now was clear." The man grumble incoherent words.

 

"Friday, pull up any and all recordings that deal with suspicious weaponry and Spider-man, let's say, starting from September till now."

 

"Will do boss, but there's a chance some surveillance cameras might not have any saved records from that far back." The A.I replied.

 

"Just give me whatever you can find." Tony continued to look through Peter's file. Only a few minutes after did his alarm go off.

 

"Not that I'm not grateful or anything, but It's already 6 and I have somewhere to be." He spoke, his monotone voice never wavering.

 

"Kinda rude for someone who's trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Listen, kid, if your hypothetical 'bad guy' happens to not be hypothetical then I'll take care of it." 

 

"What do you mean?" Peter didn't understand what he meant.

 

"I mean, I'll take care of the bad guy while _you_ -" he pulled out a random pack of blueberries- " can go back to helping old ladies across the street," he finished off, eating a few blueberries.

 

"No, I have to be the one to stop him." Peter's stomach has felt like he downed a bottle of bad medicine.

 

"And why is that?" Tony replied nonchalantly.

 

"Because, they are hurting the people of Queens- no, New York. It's my obligation to stop them now that I know what they are up to." Peter tried to put some bite behind his tone. Tony stared at him calculatingly, but no matter how hard he tried, Peter just couldn't seem to read his face.

 

"Ah, let me guess, you have a hero complex right? Think just because you have powers you can play the same game, huh? Listen kid, you're just gonna hurt innocent bystanders like if you keep trying to feed your ego like that." Even though the words were meant to stab at Peter, the tone of his voice had been unnaturally neutral.

 

The thing is, the words hadn't hurt Peter in any way. What it did do was make him question what the man had said. The logical behind whatever he had said made his head pound and stomach turn violently. He had to get through Tony somehow.

 

Taking a deep breath to help calm his stomach, Peter spoke, making sure to keep eye contact.

 

"Do you know why I do what I do?" Tony lowered the small container of blueberries.

 

"Probably." His tone sounded the same from his previous one.

 

"With great power comes great responsibility." Tony fully placed the container of blueberries back where he had previously pulled them out from and crossed his arms. 

 

"If I have this great power, and bad things happen around me, and I don't do anything about it- they happen because of me. They happen because I decided not to use my power." Peter turned his gaze towards his hands.

 

"Then, people get hurt. They get hurt because of me. So can't you understand why it has to be me? If I see them doing something and I just wait for you to drop in I might be too late. I can't be too late, not again." Peter paused, lifting his gaze back towards the man.

 

"Kid- I'm sorry, I really can't." 

 

\---

 

Peter had been sent home empty handed. The one thing he didn't want happening had happened. Not only that, but the man he had some form of respect towards was strangely an -what some would say- asshole.

 

He couldn't understand for the life of him why he, Tony Stark, the one who was kidnapped, lost his parents, and almost died several times -not exactly in that order- didn't understand why this was something that he needed to do. 

 

He was in his room currently staring at his ceiling on his top bunk. 

 

Maybe something could make him understand why.

 

"Oh sweety." He turns his head and see's May back in work uniform. 

 

"What's wrong?” 

 

"What do you mean?" He replies.

 

"Don't give me that. I know how you act when your either feeling really happy or really down. You usually stay in your mind for hours on end. So tell me, what's wrong?” He had to come up with a teenager problem that had an easy to help solution.

 

"Should I go to homecoming? I mean, I'd just be a burden to the others." Which in a sense was true. But he had already decided he was going with Ned and the others.

 

"Of course you should go. If they're truly your friends they'd want you to enjoy yourself too. And I have no doubt that Ned, Michelle, and that new boy Harley have your best interest in mind." Peter nodded knowing the truth behind those words.

 

"Now come in, let's go watch a movie." Peter climbed from his bed.

 

"I have school tomorrow." May turned away from the hall facing his direction.

 

"I think my kids emotional health is _more_ important than what a school can offer him. Besides, you practically know everything there already. You always study books years ahead of your grade." May raised an eyebrow. Peter remembered how he spent his summer studying college level material.

 

"We're watching Star Wars." 

 

May laughed.

 

\---

 

Almost a week had passed, and the day was finally here. There had been almost zero sightings of Iron man and below the radar activity from the Vulture. Well, until today.

 

Peter exited the school and went to the ferry which was supposed to be the place the man had said it would be.

 

He boarded the ship without being caught, and crawled around. He might have not had any advance tech to help him, but the next best thing he did have was his hearing. As he scurried along the side of the ferry, he tried to listen for anything that sounded the least bit suspicious.

 

It's only about 10 minutes into the ride when he finally hears something. As he makes his way to the other side of the ship, he listens closely to the group of men and checks his web shooters just in case. Before one of the men could leave, Peter quickly shoots out a web and grabs the keys from the man's hand.

 

He swiftly takes down the men, successfully subduing them all. As he turns around to face the cars he then sees an older man knock out one of the bad guys. Before he could fully check it out, a group of FBI agents appear from above.

 

"Oh.." It doesn't take long to realize that these men were likely the ones Tony had meant when he said he'd deal with the bad guys. He was about to explain the situation until a pair of wings broke out from one of the vans stored, and the Vulture appeared.

 

"Get out the way!" Peter called out to the agents as he shoved them away from the Vultures wings.

 

"We're going home boys." The man speaks as he looks to his right to see one of the men try to escape. He shoots out a web that gets torn by the Vultures weapon.

 

Peter then shoots a web at his legs in an attempt to drag him down, which ends up unsuccessful as they get cut. He then instead aims for the gun which he successfully manages to get.

 

Unfortunately he didn't think that one through enough because as he starts to web the gun down it bursts with an array of purple and starts to split the ferry in half.

 

He watches as it splits apart and quickly changes out his cartridges.

 

"Okay, let's see..." Peter begins to shoot out his webs, using them to connect both sides. He calculates and checks where would be the most effective places to connect and then looks back to gaze over his work hoping for a 100% job well done.

 

It isn't until he sees it when he realizes it had only been a 98% job well done.

 

"Oh no." Peter's stomachs' summersaults as he watches one of the bystanders applaud far too close to a weak web strand that causes it to snap. He watches it set off a chain reaction as he swings over to the middle of the ship and tries to hold on to the few stands of webbing left.

 

After what felt like an eternity of holding on, he hears a sound of repulsors which causes his stomach to flip once more.

 

"Hey Spider-man." The robotic voice spoke coldly. The ship soon starts to come together, allowing himself to let go and watch as Iron man fixes the ferry.

 

Peter heads to the top a roof and looks as the ferry goes by. It isn't long before Iron man joins him.

 

"Is everyone okay?" He stays seated.

 

"No thanks to _you_." The voice sounded angry.

 

So incredibly angry. 

 

He had no right to be angry.

 

"No thanks to me? I told you a week ago about this. I said I was going to fix this. You were the one who decided not to listen to me." Peter stood up and walked towards the suit. 

 

"If you actually cared, you'd be here."

 

Two seconds later the suit opens and reveals a very pissed off looking Tony Stark.

 

Well.

 

" You know what kid? I did listen. I told you I had it handled. What you did today? You could have hurt- no killed innocent people because of what? A complex?" His voice was strained but Peter could hear the intensity in his words.

 

"I-"

 

"Nope this is where you zip it, the adult is talking." Peter wrapped an arm around his stomach.

 

"Don't you realize how stupid it was for you to do what you did? If anyone were to have died today, that would have been on you. And if something happened to you, that- that would have been on me." The man sighed as he turned away placing a hand to his face. He looks silently at Peter for a few seconds.

 

"Okay, we're not gonna do this." Peter watched as the man pulled out a pair of glasses. 

 

"The next time I see you out and about as _Spider-man_ before you're 18, I'm telling your aunt." Peter stuttered in movement.

 

"N-no.” He almost whispered. The idea of his aunt finding out didn't necessarily bother him. The idea that did however, had been due to the fact that he was the cause of his Uncle's death. His stomach turned at the thought that his Aunt May would soon figure this out and not want anything to do with him. While it sounded extreme, it wasn't too far fetched. He'd seen instances like these before, and did not want to become one of them.

 

"Yeah no, sorry kid but this is for your own good. If you aren't going to take your job seriously then you shouldn't be doing it." 

 

"No, I told you why-"

 

"Yes, and I told you I couldn't understand kid. To be honest, that part isn't your fault. That however-" He gestures over to the direction of the ferry,"- _is_."

 

"If I didn't get him now, things could have gotten worse." Peter tried to get him to see logical.

 

"No, if you didn't get him now, he would've been taken into custody by the FBI agents"

 

"You mean the same agents that almost got killed by the Vultures alien tech had I not intervene?" Peter tilted his head.

 

"So what, you're okay with the fact you almost killed innocent civilians today?" The older man spoke, sounding even more agitated.

 

"No. That wouldn't have happened if you listened to me." Tony pinched his nose bridge.

 

"Okay no I'm not having an argument with a 14 year old." Tony paused before drawing out a long sigh.

 

 "If you can't handle the responsibility kid, then you can't handle the suit."

 

 Walking off he muttered something under his breath and soon the iron man suit was flying away.

 

Peter coughs into his mask.

 

\---

 

Peter doesn't return home until 7 due to an impromptu search that causes him to look all throughout New York for his missing book bag. Failing to find it, he collects some clothes from a few clothing lines and wears them back to the apartment.

 

He knocks on his door and waits only a few seconds before May swings the door open.

 

"Peter! Where have you _been_?! I got a call from the school saying you've been skipping class and -" May continued, guiding him inside in which he takes a seat on the couch. It isn't long before she notices that silence and pauses.

 

"Come on honey, you have to tell me what's going on. You know I can't read you when you're like this." May softly combs through his hair with her finger tips.

 

"I've been thinking." He starts. May stays quiet, waiting for him to continue.

 

"I'm not feeling so good." He finishes. He lifts his head and she starts to see the red liquid accumulating around his eyes. 

 

"Oh baby, now that I think about it, it has been a while." She steps away from the couch and heads to the kitchen to grab some napkins.

 

"If it gets worse tell me okay?" Peter nods as he wipes away the blood now flowing down his 

cheeks.

 

Maybe taking a break from Spider-man is the best thing for him.

 

\---

 

Him and his friends were currently talking about homecoming as Peter ate food from not only his plate, but Ned's and Harley's too.

 

"I don't see what the big deal is. If you really like her, just ask her out. Doesn't hurt to try." Harley takes a bite of one Michelle's carrot sticks as she glares at him. Ned sighs shaking his head,

 

"I don't know man." Peter watches as his friends continue to talk about Ned's crush. Eventually he stands, and excuses himself for a quick bathroom break. 

 

Peter was headed on his way back to the lunch room when he bumps into Liz. 

 

"Oh, hey Peter." Liz smiles his way. Peter returns the gesture.

 

 "Hi." He looks at the decor baskets on the floor. "You guys setting up for homecoming?" 

 

"Yeah, we only have two more days left. We would have been done yesterday, but there was an argument about color coordination between the art kids." She laughs. " You'd think in a school that's predominantly stem they'd have better time management skills."

 

Peter watches as she rearranges some of the decor from the boxes. 

 

"I'm pretty sure that's the one thing we as a collective group of high schoolers sadly don't have. Besides, I'm one hundred percent sure I saw someone enter five times 3 into a calculator in physics today." Peters tone becomes near monotone at the end of his sentence. As Liz laughs, he watches her continue to organize the decor.

 

"I was wondering.." Liz pauses her work which causes Peter to shift his gaze to her face. She bites her lip and stares hesitantly at the floor. She's nervous.

 

She shifts her gaze back up to Peter and stares for a few seconds.

 

"I was wondering if you would like to go to homecoming with me." She finally finishes.

 

Peter thinks to process the interaction. Liz wasn't the type to be hesitant. She was a senior, and pretty straight forward with her questions, especially if she already knew the likely answer to them. So her being nervous meant she was unsure of Peter's reaction. Why she'd ask him, he still had no clue. 

 

"Um, okay, sure. Why me though?" Peter questions with a head tilt. The school bell rings to mark the end of lunch.

 

"Well, besides the whole soulmate emotionless thing, you're actually a pretty decent guy. I judge a person by the people they're surrounded by sometimes, and- I know you must be doing something right if you're friends with those three." The corners of her lips turned upward as she gestures to Ned, Harley, and Michelle who turn into the corner.

 

"There he is, hey Peter, come on! Class starts in like, 5!" Ned calls. Michelle and Harley both quickly elbow him in the arm which causes Ned to nearly fall where he stood.

 

"Well, you better get going. Don't want to have to get slip." Peter nods as Liz grabs a basket and heads off to the opposite side of the hall before turning the corner out of sight.

 

"Yoo, dude what was that about?" Harley was the first to make it to Peter.

 

"She asked me out to homecoming." Peter responded. 

 

"Wait really? Damn, you gotta tell me your secrets." Harley patted him on the back.

 

"Really?! Peter that's great!" Ned comments enthusiastically.

 

"Yeah, what to go Parker." Michelle adds with a small smile. They all continue walking to the direction of their next classes. 

 

"It doesn't really matter. She has a romantic soulmate, so if anything we'll just be going as friends." Peter replies nonchalantly. It was a truth that Peter had known from the moment she first asked him. The idea of it being a just friend's kind of outing didn't really bothered him as much as social media had told him it should.

 

"Yeah, but you don't know that! Liz could probably like never find her soulmate and like, end up wanting to stay with you." Ned exclaims. 

 

"Definitely, there's a ton a stories goin' around now in days on stuff like-" Harley pauses and Peter watches the glance he tries to not obviously give towards Michelle before deciding not to not continue. Peter decides not to think much of it.

 

Ned on the other hand was completely oblivious about it. 

 

"Man dude, you have like the best and worst luck simultaneously." Peter smiles as the four split and head off to their classes.

 

\---

 

It wasn't until the night of homecoming when Peter's stomach had started to act up. He thought it could be something to do with pain likely caused by the fact he couldn't fully express the importance of this night through any sort of emotion. Or maybe it was an omen about how badly this night would become. He thought the former would have been a lot more easier to deal with than the latter. Unfortunately for him, Peter never really got to decide what life had in store for him.

 

The moment the door open Peter had felt probably one of the most intensifying stomach flip in his life. He could almost taste the liquid trying to come up, but quickly swallowed it down.

 

The Vulture was right in front of him.

 

The Vulture was Liz's dad.

 

The world really is a small place, isn't it?

 

Peter got through the greetings in breeze, easily ignore the temptation to cough. Once he started calculating the likelihood of all of this ending well, his stomach had calmed down. He was in control of the situation.

 

That was, until he had a gun pointed to his face and was threatened with his life. 

 

He was not in control of the situation.

 

He had a decision to make, and he already knew his choice before even leaving the car. As he walked into the building, he quickly ran up to Liz.

 

"I'm sorry." Was all that came out of his mouth. He didn't bother to wait for her response. He knew what he had done to her was wrong, but he also knew what was at stake if he didn't stop the Vulture from stealing the cargo from Tony's plane.

 

It didn't take long before he made it to a warehouse. He was no longer connected to Ned by this point, and wondered if he had found a way to get into contact with Tony yet. That would most likely heighten his chances of successfully making it through this.

 

Walking into the warehouse he sees Toomes fiddle with things on a table. As he made his way in, the man fully turns around and grabs his jacket.

 

"Oh, hey, Pete. I didn't hear you come in."  Peter quickly shoot out a web that pinned his hand.

 

"It's over. I've got you." Peter spoke with no clear emotion in his tone.

 

"You know, I gotta tell you, Pete...I really, really admire your grit. I see why Liz likes you. I do. When you first came to the house..I wasn't sure. I thought, 'Really?' But I get it now." 

 

His stomach turned. Something wasn't right.

 

"Why do this?" Peter responded, he kept his guard up and carefully surveyed his surroundings as inconspicuously as possible.

 

"Peter...you're young.You don't understand how the world works." Peter felt a tingle at the base of his neck as well as a small tightening of his gut.

 

"People like Stark, the Avengers, they don't care for people like us. We fight their wars, clean up their mistakes while they get to run around and do whatever it is they 'think' is for the greater good. You gotta understand Pete, you and me are the same. They don't care about me just like they don't you. It won't be long before you become a casualty and they create a half bake speech about a death they could have easily prevented." Peter ignored the pinches in his gut.

 

"Why are you telling me this?" 

 

"Because I want you to understand.. And I needed a little time to get her airborne." immediately right after, the wings fly towards him repeatedly trying to knock him over.

 

"I'm sorry Pete." Toomes speaks. Peter doesn't respond, preparing himself for whatever was next.

 

"But sometimes you need a few _casualties_ to get what you want." He felt the humming at the base of his skull wash over his entire body.

 

But he was too late.

 

Before Peter could even think about taking a step, the entire warehouse collapse on top of him. The first thing he felt was the pressure on his ribs. He couldn't breath, and the ceiling and him pinned to the floor. His face was near a puddle of water which didn't help the situation one bit, so he ripped off the masked to make it feel less suffocating. He couldn't lift the building from his back no matter how much he struggled. All that came out of his mouth were grunts and pained sounds as he tried to push against the floor with as strength as he could muster. No matter what, the building still wouldn't budge.

 

_"If you can't handle the responsibility kid, then you can't handle the suit."_

 

He didn't know why, but those words rang through his ears. He had wanted so badly to prove to Tony that he had what it took. That he knew the risk. That he could handle the suit.

 

He wanted to show him what he could do, and the only way to do that was by stopping the Vulture. He could do it. He is Spider-man.

 

With all his might Peter pushed the rubble. His night couldn't get any more difficult then that he thought. 

 

Peter tries not to think about the possibility that he was most likely alone on this one.

 

\---

 

It got worse before it got better. The plane had crashed, and Peter went through probably what could be titled the worst beating of his entire career. 

 

Peter was resting on top of park equipment as he watched the clean up crew collect what was left. He pressed hard against his shoulders to try and staunch the bleeding puncture holes that had been created when the talons of Toomes suit pierced him.

 

The pain was surely there, but his mind was too occupied on what was inevitably going to happen next. He thought about May, Liz, his friends, and last but certainly not least, Tony.

 

Apart of him -like his turning gut- didn't want to see the man at the moment. He didn't think his body was up to any sort of lecture.

 

It took about 30 minutes before Peter could get up and swing his way back home. By that time the cargo was already retrieved including most of the rubble. He felt it was alright to leave the area, as the threat was no longer there.

 

By the time he made it back, the pain in his stomach subsided at the fact that May wasn't home yet.

 

He gently touched around his shoulders which had now been sealed by a thin and tender layer of skin. He unintentionally shivered as he pulled of the homemade suit that was tattered to near shreds. 

 

The movement caused a wave of dizziness that could most possibly be due to blood lost. The suit was around his waist before he made his way to the bathroom. When he turned on the light the first thing he saw was the deep purple bruises that covered almost every inch of his skin.

 

He looked like a poorly made human render of that one art piece Michelle had shown him.

 

As he fully pulled the suit from away his body, it started to look more and more like someone had splattered his body with paint. 

 

He turned on the faucet and splashed his face with water which had been a terrible mistake because that made him even more awake. The pain, the bruises, the gravel that was most likely still trapped in his lungs, causing that odd sound whenever he breathed can rushing to him in full force.

 

He washed as much of the blood off as he could without accidently aggravating any wounds. When he finished, he walked back to his bedroom and changed into loose fitting clothes. He chose to wait till morning for a shower, as his body would be mostly healed by then, lowering the likelihood of water pellets irritating his bruises and tender wounds.

 

As he finished changing, he grabbed the older suit and placed it into a bag under his bed. It was practically rags, so it would be less time consuming on his part to just buy a new one.

 

Finally he laid onto his bed as carefully as he could. The soreness was still there with every shift, but the exhaustion made it easy to close his eyes and momentarily forget the pain.

 

When he woke up the next day, his cheeks were stained with blood.

**Author's Note:**

> The soul bond will be explained more later on throughout the story so if you still have more questions, it will most likely be answered in a future chapter.
> 
> Also just in case you're wondering and haven't read the tags, this is a Platonic Soulmate Au,,


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